so there i was driving along when all of a sudden my check engine light came on and the car immediately went into limp mode. A few minutes later, the increased emissions light came on. I had just started the car and went around 200 feet when everything started. Earlier, I was romping around a little, but i had the girlfriend in the car so it wasnt like i was winding through all the gears.

The car sounded like i threw an aggressive cam on. At first, i thought it was an exhaust leak, but after i stepped out of the vehicle while it was running, there was no evidence of an exhaust leak. To make a long story short, once drove it to the dealer and after they did a diagnostics test they found that the #4 cylinder wasnt firing at all. They changed the coilpack and plug, and still nothing. After some troubleshooting, they finally got the #4 to start firing (they didnt say what exactly they did). However, once they did that, #3 lost ALL compression.

The dealer (Southbay BMW in El Cajon, CA) said that they were speaking with BMW directly and just waiting on word for what to do next. I spoke with the tech, and he said that it could possibly be bad valve springs.

My question is, are bad valve springs common on '08's? Also, has anyone else had issues like this before? Anything will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!

-JP

JP,
i had the same issue with mine. it actually started the day after i bought it (preowned). anyway, i can't remember exactly what the fix was, but do a search for "engine malfunction/increased emissions." you will find what you need there.
i remember i had a xmas tree of lights on the nav display with errors, what i can remember is: engine malfunction, increased emissions, edc malfunction, and i think one or two more. it all went away after i shut the car off and turned it back on. sometimes it took more than once shutting it off to clear. if i remember correctly, it was a bad idle regulator valve or something like that, but i hope that helps. by the way, it was an easy and quick fix once they got the part in. good luck.